That in-and-of-itself is a violation of peacetime training regulations. In combat the rules are different. Friend of mine was flying his A-10 as a wingman during a peacetime training mission along the east coast: he was looking at lead and behind while the fight lead looks out front. . .the flight lead called for a radio channel change to an ATC freq and when my friend looked inside for a sec to change channels he drifted low, looked up, saw TREES in his windscreen. . .hit the trees and flew out and up and called his flight lead; “Hog 11, I just hit a tree”. . .the usually busy ATC freq immediately went silent. . .everyone was stunned as that kind of call doesn't happen all that much.
I almost hit the ground myself a time or two.
It happens.
We don't what happened here.